All ‘Rhodes’ Lead to Victory for Boise State

One thing we can take from Saturday’s game is the new hurry-up offense will work. Boise State (1-1, 0-0 in MW) decimated UT Martin 63-14 with a fire fueled by the previous week’s loss. Specifically, the Broncos’ offense proved to be more creative than what fans saw in Washington.

Opening on their turf, Boise State seemed to start out slow with a tied score of 7-7 in the middle of the first quarter. However, the Bronco offense settled in after a touchdown pass from Joe Southwick to Aaron Burks for 54 yards. They even surprised UT Martin with an on-side kick from Dan Goodale recovered from Ebo Makinde that sent Bronco fans into a frenzy.

After that, the Broncos’ offense could not be stopped. Sophomore wide receiver Shane Williams-Rhodes felt the whole team lift.

“I just felt like we finally got in the end zone since we didn’t get in there last week so, it felt real good to actually get a rushing touchdown….just felt like we started rolling.”

Rhodes proved to be a great asset to the team, running a total of 26 yards. Redshirt senior quarterback Joe Southwick connected with Rhodes well throughout the game, but especially when he found him downfield for a 30-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter.

“We got to the line. Joe’s came a long way,” Rhodes said. “I feel like every week, he’s still getting better and he made the adjustment and after he made it, I sat there and looked at the coverage and I just knew it was gonna be a touchdown.”

Suffering a hand fracture during fall camp, Rhodes overcame his injury and played without a cast during practice all week long.

“It was tough, but it’s just based off your pain tolerance and (you) gotta grind,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes’ hand didn’t affect his play at all against UT Martin catching an impressive total of 89 yards and scoring two touchdowns lifting the Broncos to a 63-14 victory.

Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, also impressed by Rhodes’ performance will be relying on him for upcoming conference games.

“He’s kind of lightning in a bottle. I mean he really is,” Petersen said. “He is a hard guy to corral. He’s a dynamic playmaker and we got to be creative in terms of how we get him the ball and continue to build on that,” Coach Petersen said.

The Broncos will open up Mountain West Conference play against Air Force next Friday night when they return to The Blue.